How We Build the Data
Sources
Civic Star aggregates publicly available meeting documents from city and county websites: agendas, minutes, and meeting packets. We discover source URLs by state and jurisdiction, then scrape and process documents on a regular schedule. Each record is tied to a specific meeting (date, type, and jurisdiction) so you can trace back to the original material.
Map and filters
The pipeline is available as a map and searchable list. You can filter by project type (land use), geography (state, county, city), date range, and action type. Projects are shown when they have at least one land use or zoning action (e.g. rezoning, variance) extracted from a meeting document. The map and filters are designed for BD, acquisition, and market analysis workflows.
Alerts and saved searches
You can save search criteria (e.g. multifamily + Denver metro, or single-family + a specific county) and receive weekly email alerts when new projects match. No need to monitor dozens of government sites manually. Alerts link to the current results so you can review and follow up.
Meeting types
We tag meeting documents by type: city council, planning commission, county commission, and others. Planning commission often hears zoning and site plan items first; city council may give final approval. Understanding which meeting type a project went through helps you gauge stage and next steps.
How we classify projects
Projects are classified by land use type and subtype (e.g. residential, multifamily, single-family) and by action category and type (e.g. rezoning, variance, design review). Outcomes are captured as approved, denied, continued, or other. This structure supports the filters and alerts you use on the platform.
Data quality and limitations
Data is derived from public meeting documents we process; we do not verify every field against primary sources. Coverage varies by jurisdiction—we add cities and counties over time, and some areas have more complete or timely data than others. Use the pipeline as an early signal and always confirm critical details (e.g. addresses, ownership) through your own due diligence.